The approaches described in this section could be pursued, but are not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
The introduction of the DVR to the consumer world has revolutionized the way viewers watch and record media content. DVRs record television programs on one or more volatile or non-volatile computer-readable storage devices that is capable of storing a large number of media content. Because DVRs are usually box-like in shape, and are often found sitting on top of the television sets to which they are connected, DVRs typically are included in the broad category of devices referred to herein as “set-top boxes.” Much like Video Cassette Recorders (VCRs), DVRs may receive one or more media content signals (which may represent television programs, movies, or any other type of media content) as input from antennas (for broadcasted content), cables (from a cable service provider) or satellite dishes (from a satellite dish service provider), and also output signals to a television set or other display device for display to a user. A DVR may also receive media content from broadband network connections that may be connected to one or more networks containing media content, including the Internet.
A user may instruct the DVR to schedule a recording of specified content that may be broadcasted or otherwise transmitted to the DVR at some future time. Thus, the user may schedule the automatic recording of the content in advance of the time that the DVR receives the content. For example, the user might instruct the DVR to record unspecified content that will be broadcasted on a specified channel beginning at a specified date and time and ending at another specified time. For another example, the user might instruct the DVR to record a specified showing (on a specified channel, and beginning at a specified date and time) of a specified movie, specified event, or specified episode of a multi-episode television series. For another example, the user might instruct the DVR to record the next to-be-broadcasted instance of a specified movie, specified event, or specified episode of a multi-episode television series without specifying the date, time, or channel on which that instance will be broadcasted. For another example, the user might instruct the DVR to record all (or all first-run) episodes of a multi-episode television series on a specified channel without specifying the dates or times at which those episodes will be broadcasted. For another example, the user might instruct the DVR to record all (or all first-run) instances of movies, events, or episodes of a multi-episode television series that are associated with a specified keyword, a specified actor, and/or a specified director without specifying the titles, channels, or broadcasting times of those instances. For another example, a user might also instruct the DVR to download specified content from a media content provider on the Internet for future viewing.
As illustrated in the above examples, a DVR allows a user to search for and schedule programs for recording in a variety of ways. As other types of media content, such as video on demand, downloading content from networks, and online video vaults become more widely available, a user's search to find media content that interest them becomes more complex. In fact, some users may feel overwhelmed by the volume and variety of media content that is available. Under this circumstance, when these users do encounter particular media content they wish to record, the users may not be able due to DVR storage space constraints or other reasons (e.g., the users wish to record a different particular media content). If the user waits to later add the particular media content to schedule a recording, the user has to retrace his previous steps to find the particular media content. This process may be very frustrating for users.
For example, suppose a user accesses a video on demand server to download and watch a recently released movie. It is quite possible that as the user browses for a first media content, he may encounter a second media content that also interests him. Yet, in some cases (e.g., due to DVR space constraints, schedule of other recording media contents, not wishing to pay for the content until the user is sure to watch the content, etc.), the user cannot record the second media content at that time. If the user decides to come back and schedule the second media content later, the user generally has to retrace their steps to find the second media content. This process may include navigating through various menu screens, repeating previously performed keywords searches, and other inconvenient details to find the second media content. Moreover, the user may navigate to an incorrect menu, misspell a keyword, or perform other minor errors. This results in the user becoming increasingly frustrated.